Vince!
Dan Kunz
When I was seventeen years old, I worked as a busboy at a supper club about thirty miles south of Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was August and, as usual, pretty slow on the Sunday night when I was filling water glasses and cleaning off tables. One of the waitresses asked me to bus the lower level, which was normally only used for weddings. I thought that was odd, since I knew there was no wedding reception planned for Sunday night. When I went down to the banquet area, I was shocked to see the entire Green Bay Packer coaching staff having their final pre-season meeting! I could barely contain my excitement as I cleared the dishes from in front of the man himself – Vince Lombardi. I cautiously kept checking back from time to time to see how the meeting was going and when they’d be ready to leave. Growing up as a Packer fan at the height of their glory days, I just had to try to get Vince’s autograph. As they were standing up to leave, I politely approached him and ask if I might have one. He smiled his big, gap-toothed grin and said, “Sure.” When I thanked him profusely for his autograph, he smiled again and said, “No, thank you for asking.” I went home and put the 3 X 5 notecard in my desk drawer. Although it was a treasure, I didn’t really do anything with it except for taking it out and looking at it occasionally. Little did I know I wouldn’t see it again for fifty years!
To make a long story shorter, when my uncle, who lived with our family, passed away, my mom packed up some of his things from that same desk, and put them aside. I always wondered what happened to the now-treasured autograph. I never knew what happened to it until last week when I came upon a box of my late uncle’s “stuff” as my wife and I were finishing the move to our new house. Among several old books, some 45-rpm records, and a few photographs was Vince Lombardi’s autograph! Other than a little damage on one corner of the notecard, the autograph itself was pretty much completely intact and not really faded at all. To say I was overjoyed is an understatement. I immediately took a cell photo of it and sent it to all my children and grandchildren. You can bet the autograph will be framed and displayed with Vince’s picture in a prominent place in our house!
Luke 15:10 “In the same way I tell you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Imagine that! The way I rejoiced over finding a treasured possession after years and years of wondering what happened to it, is nothing compared to the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. Jesus loved to describe the scene so much, he did it repeatedly – a lost coin, a lost sheep, a lost son. What a heavenly celebration occurs when a lost soul is found; was blind, but now can see! Jesus loved the lost so much, he, himself, was a seeker. Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
As Christians we often focus on sharing the Gospel with the unchurched, as well we should, but we should never stop looking for the de-churched, those who had the truth and lost it somewhere along the way, a classmate, a child, a neighbor, or a spouse. Pray for them. Encourage them. Love them. Share the way “home” with them. And, God willing, you’ll be rejoicing with them and the angels when they enter that home! I love a happy ending!